Show us your Pugbashes, Nellieboshes, Desmondifications, Jintysteins

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

Being perfectly honest? I’ve begun to hate split chassis locos, not because they run poorly, but because of the axles and how much of a pain they are to replace.

 

Not to mention that Mainline chassis’s are bulky, and you can’t really mod them to fit other models without significant modifications, could maybe mod one to take Triang Nellie wheels and a type 7 motor though…

[Johnson044]

9 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

It's an old Lesney (Matchbox) Models of yesteryear Santa Fe locomotive from the early sixties. All diecast and somewhere around TT scale, they also did a GWR Achilles clas 4-2-2 like the Triang Lord of the Isles. Oddly neither was issued with a tender.

It is indeed! The Lesney Santa-Fe and Duke of Connaught are very plentiful- I have had two of the Santa-Fe locos since childhood so felt that the worst of them could be sacrificed "For the greater good". The tender is from an Atlas Nord De-Glehn Atlantic that I made into a model of "La France" a year or so ago (It's on one of the 3mm scale threads). 

 

Both the Lesney locos were made, I think, of odd scales so they would fit in a standard box. The Duke of Connaught is to approx. 2.3mm to the foot. I have four in varying condition, with the vague intention of making a detailed static loco and tender one day, maybe to go in the background of my (one day) 0 gauge layout.

 

As I say, they are pretty thick on the ground- I bought a D of C (missing trailing axle) for £1 from Scott's Salvage in Cliftonville not long ago and there was a manky Santa Fe there the other day for £3.  Loads on Ebay.

[AlfaZagato]

2.3mm/ft is awfully close to English N. 

[MrWolf]

They're a little basic!

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223996728264?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=CaO7QxZiQKO&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=3qkTzGg7QRS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[Johnson044]

1 hour ago, AlfaZagato said:

2.3mm/ft is awfully close to English N. 

Pretty close to TT120 too!

[RosiesBoss]

On 16/01/2024 at 10:59, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

On the topic of Nellie… And just general starter 0-4-0s.

 

Anyone know any decent short wheelbase 0-6-0 chassis’s? Tempted to make myself some industrial models after seeing the amazing models in this thread, the old Dapol/Hornby Terrier chassis, whilst decent, is overpriced for what it is based on what I’ve seen, and don’t get me started on the Hornby “Toby” chassis, I’ve got a Toby, but if I’m going to use that chassis then I’d much rather get another Toby, which has become rather rare since 2017, maybe Hornby will rerelease it in the same manner as the other Thomas toolings they’ve been pumping out recently? 🤪

 

But yeah, after short wheelbase 0-6-0T chassis’s, would appreciate any recommendations.

Here's a list of some short wheelbase 0-6-0 chassis from my references:

Bachmann Salty: 4'9"+4'9"; 3'6" wheels

Electrotren H0 0-6-0: 5'0"+6'0"; 3'6" wheels

Hornby Toby: 5'6"+5'6"; 4'3" wheels *

BR Class 03: 4'6"+4'6"; 3'7" wheels

Bachmann Thomas: 5'9"+5'9"; 4'3" wheels *

Bachmann Junior 0-6-0ST: 6'0"+6'0"; 4'3" wheels *

Terrier 0-6-0T: 6'0"+6'0"; 4'0" wheels *

 

* Used for some of my own models.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Regards,

 

Rob

[BernardTPM]

18 hours ago, Captain Slough said:

 

And also did a London tramcar, which from my measurements is pretty much spot-on for HO scale. Which was a weird and market-limiting choice....

The H0 tram (4 wheeler) was rather later than the Santa Fe and Duke of Connaught, though they did an E1 tram around that time which was about 1:130 scale, very similar in scale to their Trolleybus in the 1 to 75 range.

[Captain Slough]

this Maerklin starter-set 0-6-0 '3087' is the shortest wheelbase 0-6-0 on 16.5mm track I've ever seen. if HAMO ever did a variant of it in 2-rail it might be suitable for a variety of tiny locos

 

The letters on the cabside - KLVM -stand for "Tiny Locomotive from Maerklin"

 

From front to rear coupling hook the whole thing is only about 10cm.

Edited January 17 by Captain Slough

[TinTracks]

On 15/01/2024 at 23:59, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

after short wheelbase 0-6-0T chassis’s, would appreciate any recommendations.

Hi 

 As @Captain Slough has pointed out, Marklin have an interesting selection of SWB chassis. They can be come by quite cheaply (spares repairs, non runners etc.) Pictured is a selection of locos I've bought over the years. Most of them for less than £10/15, some of them £5.00!  The exception being the big feller on the top row which may have been about £30.

Looking at the top of the right hand row you will see an old J94 plastic kit which I plan to motorise using a suitably butchered Marklin 2-6-0 chassis (pictured under the kit) The driving wheel wheelbase and wheel size of the Marklin chassis is almost identical to the original J 94 kit chassis. To convert to 12v DC I've retrofitted this particular chassis with an aftermarket permanent magnet that I had spare but a pair of diodes would have done the job just as well.

 The 0-8-0 tanker underneath the J94 has a wheelbase of only 50mm.

 There are a few obstacles to overcome for the two rail DC runner

These old locos are 16v AC Three Rail. They can be converted to run on DC in less than an hour by removing the reversing relay and substituting a pair of diodes.

As I understand they can be converted to two rail running in a similar fashion to Hornby Dublo 3 to 2 rail conversions. (I'm a 3 railer so leave as is).

 The wheels are, to say the least, chunky but I've not had any problems running them on old Dublo 3 rail tinplate track and think they may be fine on series 4.

 The motors do take up quite a bit of room so may well not fit into a smaller project.. However, when refurbished they do run very well indeed.

 Regards, Rich

 

[Ben B]

On 15/01/2024 at 23:59, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

On the topic of Nellie… And just general starter 0-4-0s.

 

Anyone know any decent short wheelbase 0-6-0 chassis’s? Tempted to make myself some industrial models after seeing the amazing models in this thread, the old Dapol/Hornby Terrier chassis, whilst decent, is overpriced for what it is based on what I’ve seen, and don’t get me started on the Hornby “Toby” chassis, I’ve got a Toby, but if I’m going to use that chassis then I’d much rather get another Toby, which has become rather rare since 2017, maybe Hornby will rerelease it in the same manner as the other Thomas toolings they’ve been pumping out recently? 🤪

 

But yeah, after short wheelbase 0-6-0T chassis’s, would appreciate any recommendations.

 

I'm sure I read a while back that the Toby chassis is very prone to Mazak rot, which might explain its relative scarcity.

[Captain Slough]

1 hour ago, TinTracks said:

Hi 

 The exception being the big feller on the top row which may have been about £30.

 

that big 2-10-2 definitely needs an Airfix 9F body on it and a touch of black paint

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

1 hour ago, Ben B said:

 

I'm sure I read a while back that the Toby chassis is very prone to Mazak rot, which might explain its relative scarcity.

Unsure if this is a thing on older releases, but I've had a Toby for a while, no Mazak rot problems for me! I'll keep this in mind for the future though. Another reason it might be so rare is because it's a short wheelbase chassis, and thus popular for industrial models?

 

A similarly scaled chassis would have to be CraftyNerd's (same guy who made the OO Ivor I showed earlier) 3D printable 0-6-0 chassis, a replacement for the standard Hornby 0-4-0, but that has it's own issues, given you need the 0-4-0 chassis, Bachmann Thomas rods, a Bachmann Edward motor, etc, I don't deny it's well made, but a bit pricey considering you need to own a 3D printer, or know someone/somewhere that can print it for you, then get a bunch of third party components.

Edited January 17 by Hacksworth_Sidings

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

14 hours ago, RosiesBoss said:

Here's a list of some short wheelbase 0-6-0 chassis from my references:

Bachmann Salty: 4'9"+4'9"; 3'6" wheels

Electrotren H0 0-6-0: 5'0"+6'0"; 3'6" wheels

Hornby Toby: 5'6"+5'6"; 4'3" wheels *

BR Class 03: 4'6"+4'6"; 3'7" wheels

Bachmann Thomas: 5'9"+5'9"; 4'3" wheels *

Bachmann Junior 0-6-0ST: 6'0"+6'0"; 4'3" wheels *

Terrier 0-6-0T: 6'0"+6'0"; 4'0" wheels *

 

* Used for some of my own models.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Regards,

 

Rob

I do have a Bachmann Thomas chassis, no motor, the whole model was received in a right state from a friend, with the side tanks cut off, pieces of carboard blu-tacked on, coloured in with low quality paint and sharpie... I've repaired the model cosmetically but need to find a solution for the motor.

[TinTracks]

41 minutes ago, Captain Slough said:

that big 2-10-2 definitely needs an Airfix 9F body on it and a touch of black paint

Crikey,! You've just given me food for thought!

 A while ago I acquired a dirt cheap tender drive 9f and a parallel boilered Scot body with the intention of making a ''Poor Mans'' Big Bertha/Emma. Needless to say other mad ideas have hindered progress on that project plus I spent most of November and December restoring and repairing over 20 old HD 3R wrecks that I've had stashed for half a lifetime🙃. However looking at this chassis it could well do the trick instead of the 9f.

 Only trouble is that it's such a lovely old beastie and I still have a hankering after old DB and DR loks and rolling stock. Hmm, I'll dig out my old RM mags and try the chassis  against the Bertha drawings.

 Regards, Rich

[Captain Slough]

Airfix Schools class might be a good source for a large parallel boiler on an 0-10-0 banking locomotive, you can splice as many of them as you like together to make it long enough....

[cypherman]

Hi all,

Would the boiler from the early 80's Hornby un rebuilt Patriot be any use. I had heard of it in the past been used to make  a model of Big Bertha.

[Talltim]

For those of us for whom the Ice Locomotive is new https://blog.railwaymuseum.org.uk/the-ice-locomotive-curiosities-from-the-engineering-drawing-collections/

I'm a bit puzzled why the driving wheels seem to be smooth, youd have though some chunky grips would have been in order.

Also why would you build something for use on ice, which tends to happen in cold places and provide no cab?

[Ben B]

2 hours ago, Talltim said:

.

Also why would you build something for use on ice, which tends to happen in cold places and provide no cab?

 

Probably the same reason the GWR didn't have cabs... don't want the lower orders being too comfortable and pampered. Besides, icy winds keep you awake on a 19 hour shift ;)

 

More surprising for me than ice locomotives were the catterpillar-tracked saddle tanks used in some logging areas in the US. Pretty astonishing contraptions!

[TinTracks]

Hi. Apologies for going OT but in answer to @Captain Slough and @cypherman 

 I've dug out the RMs for Oct and Nov 1967 and taken a shot of the project ''ingredients'' compared to the  Lickey Banker drawings. The 9f chassis is close enough for me and, working back from the smokebox door the Scot body certainly has potential, new chimney, dome, and safety valves, move boiler bands, shorten firebox, replace cab. I've got a  white metal chimney in stock that will do nicely but I'm not sure which style of dome will do and would appreciate opinions. The 9f tender drive is a bit long in the wheelbase but I've a few contenders that will do. I'm looking into carving up a tender body from maybe the GBL Compound to go with the loco.

PS. I knew there was a reason why I opted for a Scot body. In his book Fowler Locos, Brian Haresnape reckons that the Scot boiler was developed from that used on the Lickey Banker. I guess that's what inspired me.

 I'm trying to get up the courage to start a thread of my own over on the detailing and modifying section but I think I'd best get something actually finished first !🙃

 Cheers, Rich

[AlfaZagato]

2 hours ago, Ben B said:

 

Probably the same reason the GWR didn't have cabs... don't want the lower orders being too comfortable and pampered. Besides, icy winds keep you awake on a 19 hour shift ;)

 

More surprising for me than ice locomotives were the catterpillar-tracked saddle tanks used in some logging areas in the US. Pretty astonishing contraptions!

They called those Lombard Haulers.   I think there's one restored, either out west or up in Canada.

 

 

[TinTracks]

2 hours ago, Ben B said:

More surprising for me than ice locomotives were the catterpillar-tracked saddle tanks used in some logging areas in the US. Pretty astonishing contraptions!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFxXqr-6Sdc

 Here's a nice vid of a Lombard wearing its summer clothes. Wheels on the front instead of skids.

 Watching the vid it seems to be a tricky beast to steer! Also liked the way the guy gives a hoot before setting off backwards.

 Cheers, Rich.

 

[MrWolf]

That's an impressive beast and not dissimilar in principle to the Fowler Gyrotiller, another early half-track.

 

https://youtu.be/M0UFYE1Iiu8?si=Z5TlaV2gFl8-b3ud

[Ben B]

1 hour ago, AlfaZagato said:

They called those Lombard Haulers.   I think there's one restored, either out west or up in Canada.

 

 

 

Cheers for the vid- hadn't realised there was one in working order!

 

Seems almost tailor-made for the Steampunk community :)

[Johnson044]

17 hours ago, AlfaZagato said:

They called those Lombard Haulers.   I think there's one restored, either out west or up in Canada.

 

 

Oh Wow! This is, as Ben B says, tailor-made for the Steampunk community! What a wonderful beast!

 

[SonOfMike]

Here's one I made earlier: part Airfix Pug kit, part Aifix half-track kit, the inside of a small gloss roller and bits from my scrap box.